European Commission provides €3m for Rohingyas in Bangladesh

Dhaka [Bangladesh], Dec.29 (ANI): Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh will be provided emergency humanitarian assistance by the European Commission to the tune of Euro 300 000. According to the Daily Star, this aid will directly benefit 7500 newly arrived Rohingya refugees residing in coastal Cox's Bazar. The formal announcement was made by the European Union embassy in Dhaka on Wednesday. Roman Majcher, the Head of the European Commission's humanitarian aid department (ECHO) office in Bangladesh, was quoted as saying that the Rohingya refugees who had recently crossed the Naaf River were in critical need of humanitarian assistance. He said that the EU-funded assistance will focus on delivering much-needed immediate relief and assistance to Rohingya refugees in terms of food and nutrition support, as well as the provision of non-food relief items such as sleeping kits, hygiene parcels and warm clothes. Unconditional cash grants will also be distributed to the most vulnerable to help them cover their daily basic needs, and psychological support will also be provided to help them cope with post-traumatic stress and shock. Bangladesh has witnessed a major influx of members of the Rohingya community into the south-eastern Chittagong Division over the last weeks, as a result of escalating tensions and violence in the northern part of neighbouring Myanmar's Rakhine state. It is believed that at least 27000 Rohingya refugees have crossed the Myanmar-Bangladesh border into Bangladesh in search of safety, and more than half of them are women and children. The EU funding is being made available via the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) through its Small Scale Response mechanism. (ANI with inputs)